The Ones Left Behind
by Kai's Snowfall
Summary: Before you choose to die, make sure you think of the ones who'll be left behind.


"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around."-Anonomous

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_Becuase no one wants to be left behind._

Naruto was sure they were laughing at him. He knew it. He could _hear_ them at the quietest of hours, when they thought he wasn't listening. He knew that they were laughing at his foolishness. Believing their silly lies. They promised that-they were friends-there would be no one left behind. Afterall, if you die, there's all ways someone left behind, mourning for your death. That was the price of friends.

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_Tenten was in a self-inflicted weapon accident. Neji was made a mistake while practicing Hakkeshou. Lee literally worked himself to death. (They knew it was coming) Gai followed soon after in a solo-mission. Shikamaru ran out of air to breath. Ino choked on her food. Choji's heart stopped. Azuma courted cancer._

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He wasn't sure if his dream was really worth fighting for. _He'd lost too many friends along the way._ After Sasuke left, he'd fallen into a pit of despair, it was a familiar feeling; being betrayed; so he openly welcomed it. But at that time, there were some there to comfort him, keep him believing.

He now understood why children were so naive, _like him,_ they didn't know anything, the first thought that came to mind was fact. _So I didn't bother thinking about extra possibilties. Stuck in a dream filled with rainbows and butterflies._ He thought bitterly.

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_Kurenai's best wasn't good enough and was caught. Hintata died of blood loss. Kiba's insticts proved him wrong, directly into enemy's hands. Shino's bugs simply would not do in the land of Fire. Eventually the strain of the Sharingan eye got the best of him and Obito killed Kakashi. Sakura was depressed until her very last breath._

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He simply wondered through the...day...? He no longer had a concept of time. Reality blurred with his dreams, there was no longer a line between what was real and what was fake. _Did it really matter anymore?_ He once found himeself in the forest over the body of a dead shinobi with fresh blood dripping off them. He had stared down at his hand confused, _what was this...?_ He could not tell. He decided to stay in the forest awhile longer, to see if he was alseep or awake, not daring to look down. Masses of green flooded his vision until he was sure that he could no longer be asleep. He looked at his hands once again to find them crusted with crimson that stood out so much from the green. So he threw back his head and laughed. _Or maybe he was never awake at all?_

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_Tsunade met up with an unwanted foe and died. Shizune soon after. Jiraiya had summoned Gambunta a little too late. Iruka was called onto the field of battle and ended up hanging from his heart on the wall. Akasuki went for Shukaku instead and succeded. It seemed Sasuke had permamently damaged his eyes, and lost his purpouse and life._

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He'd tried, he really had. He tried but it didn't matter.

As he watched a little girl and her father and mother enter a secluded house in the middle of nowhere, he felt like he was going to burn up. _What?_ He put his hand over his chest. _What was that?_ It came from his chest, the left side of his chest was on fire. He clutched it, clutched it hard. He didn't know why.

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_Temari and Kankuro died while trying to rescue Gaara. Itachi went blind as death peaked his intrest. Kisame died during another member's backfired jutsu. Orochimaru made a mis-calculation in an expirament causing an explosion clearing all of the sound. Without the proper tools, his three year quotent came up and he died._

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He wanted to see it. See that girl's face go white. See her cry. Show her how reality comes crashing down. _He wanted to see their faces covered in crimson._ With one swift movement, he stood in the middle, along with one girl and two headless beings. _Why?_

She could not comprehend this situation. She was going home with mother and father and now they were gone. But now there was a blond stranger. _It never used to be like this._ Her father had always told her that if they weren't near her,_ gone;_ she should call for help._ What happened?_

"Midori Green age 7! Midori Green age 7!" Naruto looked down mildly interested at the little girl with eyes streaked by tears. "..Midori Green age 7!..." crying over and over like a puppet who had lost it's strings.

And soon, she too, was _gone_. He wasn't sure what was happening anymore. The world was on fast forward, there was no rewind, there was no stop button. There was no time to pause and predict. He could only watch it all play out.

He was on fire again; he clutched his chest again, like the contents were going to fall out. _What was hurting so much anyway?_ As he stared down at the girl with eyes that saw beyond the current realm, Naruto decided he hated her. He hated a dead girl.

_She wasn't left behind._

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_Inari had drowned. Tazuna died of over exertion. Tsunami was depressed of life's results and was working in the kitchen with knives. Zabuza and Haku's graves had been raveged and looted. _

_Corpses? What corpses? They'd all been left to rot. Really, this was all so silly._

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It was like a story he'd heard once before.

_The old woman cleared her throat, "I shall tell you all a story." She announced. The children gathered excitedly around her chair. She cleared her throat once again._

_"There once was a selfish demon who brought misfortune and misery wearever he went. But the demon did not care, it was the only thing that mattered to itself. Eventually, the demon got curious about the concept of friends, so he disguised himself in human flesh. Eventually, the demon attracted others that were supposedly 'friends'. The demon found no moral or physical victory, and began to believe he was missing something, thus making it more aggressive. Eventually, the human's discovered the demon's secret, and tried to flee. But no matter where they went, the demon would follow them bring destruction in it's path. But the human's discovered the demons weakness, a way that it could no longer follow them. So they died. The selfish demon could not follow them."_

_There was a moment of silence. /Such a strange story/ A young boy raised his hand._

_"What about the demon?"_

_"What about it?" The old woman replied._

_"Wasn't the demon sad? It never made any friends."_

_"A demon is a demon, you must always remember that." She said bitterly, glaring at the spot where a blonde child had just been._

As he continued walking, it began to rain. Funny, he didn't feel cold. _Am I really that bad? Would they need to die to get away from me?_ As a red butterfly danced by his head despite the fact it was raining, Naruto was sure he could see them laughing and pointing at him.

_And it all comes down; just like the rain._

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Unbeta-ed, Oh, for neji, I used Hakkeshou (gentle fist), though I really doubt you could die practicing it BY YOURSELF. Oh well...

Good? Bad? Should I continue? First shot at semi-insanity... Tell me if you thought otherwise! Reviews please, I live on reviews! You wouldn't want me to die, would you?


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